BAKU

VTB Bank Azerbaijan, a local branch of major Russian bank VTB, reported a net profit of 4.213 million manats ($2.5 million) in 2021, 9.1 percent up from a year earlier.

The bank’s assets amounted to 232.3 million manats, 24 percent up from 2020. Liabilities rose by 32.6 percent, amounting to 163.6 million manats.

The bank’s loan portfolio rose by 31.2 percent, amounting to 165.1 million manats.

The volume of deposits totalled 88.8 million manats, which is 17.9 percent more than in 2020. Deposits of individuals rose by 37.5 percent and amounted to 53.9 million manats.

The bank’s capital increased by 7.5 percent to 68.7 million manats.

VTB Bank Azerbaijan was established in 2008 after Russia’s Vneshtorgbank (VTB), one of the major in the country, acquired a 51 percent stake of  Azerbaijan’s commercial AF Bank.

Azerbaijan’s banking sector continued to recover last year as the economy rebounded from the global shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, and reported a profit after over a year of losses.

Lenders reported a rise in total net profit of 7.2 percent year-on-year of 609 million manats in 2021, according to the central bank data.

The central bank said that the operating profit of the banking sector rose by 17.3 percent year-on-year to 942.8 million manats, total assets rose by 20 percent to 38.5 billion manats, while total liabilities increased by 22.4 percent to 33.5 billion manats.

The loan portfolio of banks rose by 17.7 percent year-on-year to 16.6 billion manats as of December 31, 2021, the central bank said. Total capitalisation rose by 5.7 percent to 4.97 billion manats. The deposit portfolio increased by 30 percent to 26.9 billion manats, including deposits by individuals, which rose by 12.3 percent to 9.0 billion manats.

There are 26 banks in Azerbaijan, including 12 with foreign capital. The largest bank by assets, the state-owned International Bank of Azerbaijan, reported a 61 percent rise in its net profit year-on-year to 208.8 million manats in 2021.